Journalist Shot Dead In Pakistan

By Alicia Versteegh

(TURBAT, PAKISTAN) – Abdost Rind, 27, was shot and killed by unidentified gunmen while returning home from work in Turbat, Balochistan province, on 18 February.

Rind, a reporter with the Daily Eagle, an Urdu-language newspaper, was shot four times before the assailants escaped on a motorcycle. He died immediately. He is the second journalist to be murdered in Balochistan province this year after the death of Ilyas Nazar on 5 January.

Rind’s family believes he was targeted because of his professional work.

The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) expressed concern over the death of yet another journalist in a country where no apparent efforts have been made by the government to ensure the safety of journalists and media practitioners.

In 2010, IPI named Pakistan the deadliest country for journalists, with a total of 16 journalists killed. Six of these journalists were murdered in Balochistan.

IPI Press Freedom Manager Anthony Mills said: “IPI joins the PFUJ in condemning the murder of yet another journalist in Pakistan. The rampant instances of murders of journalists in the country must end, and the authorities must combat the impunity that allows the killers to commit these heinous crimes.”

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